When the modernist art movement hit the Philippines, most people didn’t know what to think about the paintings being produced. Art that had previously been stylized in both technique and subject matter had reached a new moment in time with modern subjects such as labor and regional interests reflected on the canvas. Modernism was an important movement reaching across the world, and art in the Southeastern Asian region of the globe was no different. However, when one thinks of modernism, one is often more likely to consider the works of such Western artists such as Picasso and Kandinsky. Many experts consider modern art to have originated in Europe and then spread to other locations, but that is a centrist way of looking at things. Modernism was happening all over the world at the same time, and a new exhibit on the artistic movement aims to correct beliefs that modernism is exclusively European.
The National Gallery Singapore’s first international collaborative exhibit is titled “Rethinking Modernism,” and the title fits the exhibition nicely. National Gallery Singapore, which just opened in November of 2015, worked with other museums across the Southeastern Asian region to bring all different modernist artworks together in one space. Visitors to this exhibit will be treated to the sight of Picasso right next to Southeastern Asian artists, Western and Eastern pieces side by side for the first time. Though Western modernism is perhaps better known in the wider art world, Eastern modernism is just as important to the movement as a whole. It is impressive to see all of the modernist artworks presented in the same context for the first time at National Gallery Singapore.
Pieces that are well known in the Southeastern Asian are complemented by pieces of wider acclaim because it helps viewers to put the pieces they know best into the same timeframe of other modernist works. Curators of the exhibit hope to initiate discussions and analyses of just why some artworks are more memorable than others and what it modernism might mean from culture to culture before contributing to a broader understanding.
If you’re inspired by “Rethinking Modernism,” modernist artworks, or any other kind of art but aren’t sure what to do about it, visit the website SGArtClass.com. SGArtClass.com offers a variety of resources to help you get started on your own artistic journey. Learn more about different genres of art or sign up for an art class today. Expert teachers work with artists of all levels and experience to complete projects and work on existing pieces. Teachers can meet you in the comfort of your own home or at a common art studio depending on your schedule and convenience. Think about getting a group of friends or coworkers together to take a group art class — you never know what kind of skills and fun you’ll discover.
To read more about modernism at National Gallery Singapore, go to http://www.philstar.com/arts-and-culture/2016/05/02/1578820/what-modernism-and-why-national-gallery-singapore-reframing-it.